


Hardedge

by 234am



Series: Pounded in the Butt by an Ill-Made Knight [2]
Category: Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Blow Jobs, Dom/sub, Finger Sucking, Hair-pulling, Hand Jobs, Light BDSM, M/M, PWP, Polyamory, Post-Coital Cuddling, Praise Kink, Zack Fair learns a lot about himself, and gets double teamed by Cecil and Seifer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:35:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21748384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/234am/pseuds/234am
Summary: Zack Fair walks face first into a lot of realizations about himself, with help from Seifer and Cecil.
Relationships: Cecil Harvey/Zack Fair/Seifer Almasy, Seifer Almasy/Cecil Harvey
Series: Pounded in the Butt by an Ill-Made Knight [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567492
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

"Ahh... Another beautiful day!"

His companion grunted morosely, not quite awake enough to appreciate the sunlight slanting down through the trees. Zack took no offense. Though everyone thought him as naive, he hadn't missed the way his good buddy started sneaking out at night. Or the scratches and bruises he came back with.

Zack swung towards Cloud with his brightest smile, so big it made his cheeks ache. "You don't look like you're sleeping enough, pal!"

Another grunt. Cloud waved him off with a yawn. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Then you're definitely up for this jog, right?"

"Sure, whatever."

Shading his eyes, Zack scanned the camp. It was a sprawling thing, practically a city in its own right, with the airship serving as its central hub. There were a _lot_ of bodies to keep track of, a lot of bellies to fill.

And, of course, a lot of new friends. Some of which were supposed to join he and Cloud this fine morning.

"Huh... I wonder what's keeping Seifer?"

Cloud made a strangled noise. "You invited _that guy_?"

"Yeah, of course! And Zell, too."

"Those two want to kill each other."

"Not literally!" Zack laughed and waved it off. "Hmm, who else..." Thoughtful, he cupped his chin and tapped his foot. His answer came in the form of seeing familiar faces coming towards them. "Oh! Tidus and Prishe and Sabin!"

"...Did you just go looking for every musclehead you could find?"

With a grin, Zack leaned down to grab Cloud by the forearm. He hauled his friend up and curled his arm to flex the muscle. "Yeah, gotta give you goalposts to shoot for, since you're still a string bean!"

Cloud wrestled his arm out of Zack's grip. "I can and will whup you, you dumb hick."

"Try it, you corncob-gobbling country boy!"

They exchanged a very heated glower.

It lasted all of five seconds.

Then Zack threw his head back and laughed and laughed. Cloud ducked his, chortling softly, like he was afraid someone would find out he had a sense of humor.

Too late for that--

Prishe popped up between them, her ears a-quiver. "What's so funny?"

Zack looked at her, then at Cloud, and set off on new peals of laughter because he really wasn't sure if wherever Prishe came from even _had_ the concept of country living. If it did, it would probably be really, really weird. Like how Noct once mentioned farms keeping dualhorns, garulas, and whatever _birdbeasts_ were, instead of cows and chickens.

She was some sort of elf, so maybe it would be like... Airborne cows. So they could drift amongst the tree branches.

"Hey, do cows fly in your world?"

Prishe blinked. Her head slowly tilted to one side. "...Huuuuh?"

"You know, like..." Zack cupped his hands and moved them around to indicate a large, orb-shaped object. "Floaty. So you can milk them up in the trees."

" _Zack,_ " Cloud hissed. "What the--"

Laughingly, Prishe shook her head. "Noooo. I grew up on the coast. There were a lot of cliffs and waterfalls, but definitely no flying cows."

Tidus trotted up. "Cows? What are those?"

Since he was the only one in their group with any kind of smarts, Cloud supplied, "Like an auroch, but smaller."

"Flying blitzball players? This I gotta see."

Cloud _sighed_.

At that point, Sabin ambled up, smiling in that faint, distant way he had. "Cows _and_ aurochs are delicious. Meat! Is delicious."

Tidus made a distressed noise, probably still thinking of Aurochs, not aurochs.

Zack hurried to soothe him, flapping his hands with a friendly smile. "It's fine! We're not talking about eating _people_."

"Oh!" Tidus blinked rapidly, then made an exaggerated show of wiping his brow. "That's a relief!"

Zell sprinted up and ran in place, huffing and puffing. He started talking right away, all in a hurry: "Hey guys, sorry I'm late, couldn't get past Seifer's cronies, they to--"

At the same time, Prishe asked, "Hey, what's a cow, anyway?"

Which, of course, required some real thinking on Sabin's part. "It's sort of like..."

With all the chatter going on, Zack knew for sure Cloud wouldn't stick around. He could already see his friend's eyes beginning to glaze over.

"Okay, guys!" Zack clapped his hands once, real loud, to get everyone's attention. "I'm gonna go get Seifer. Why don't you all do a warmup lap around the camp, and if I'm not back by then, go ahead and start without me."

Cloud gave him the most betrayed look.

Smiling, Zack smacked his hand against Cloud's back. "You're not looking so hot, so I think you should sit this one out, buddy. Maybe go see Aerith or, uh..."

"Selphie's good, if you're feeling sore," Zell offered up. "She'll kick you into shape in no time!"

"I'm good," Cloud mumbled. "I'm just... gonna go get some food and sleep it off."

To a chorus of well wishes, Cloud slunk off.

"Okay, guys, have fun with your warm up!" Zack sketched out a sloppy two-fingered salute from his temple, grinning. "Wish me luck with Seifer!"

Everyone but Zell immediately pelted him with all the gooey good luck he could ever need.

Zell hung back as the others moved off to do their stretches out in the sunlight. He frowned. "Should just give it up, man. Seifer's a jerk anyway..."

"Giving up's not in my vocabulary, sorry!"

"Your funeral, I guess."

Thumping his fist against his chest, Zack beamed. "Don't worry, I'm a First Class SOLDIER. There's nothing Seifer _or_ his besties can do to me that I can't shake off!"

"...Sure." Zell rubbed at the back of his head, then made a visible effort to smile. He thrust both fists out, thumbs up. "Good luck!"

Pleased, Zack put his own thumb up, then turned to bounce off towards the airship. Seifer was one of the ones who preferred to stay in his cabin no matter what. Zack thought that was a shame. Camping was fun, especially when the sky changed every night and they were always somewhere new and interesting.

Their current camp was nestled in the middle of some gray stones worn down to almost nothing, sheltered by cliffs. Y'shtola said it was the ruins of a fort but Zack couldn't really see it. Anyway, the airship perched up on top of some of the stones to give it a good overhead view of the surrounding area.

And what a view that was.

Looking out east, one could see the treetops of a marshy jungle, filled with marlboros and gigantoads. As long as nobody went in there alone, it was a good source of herbs, mushrooms, and other edibles.

An entirely empty fort made of metal and fancy gadgetry lay beyond the swamp. They'd all unanimously agreed to stay away from there.

To the west was a lake with a huge, crooked tower jutting out from it, all wrapped up in the spiny remains of some kind of dragon. It was pretty cool-looking.

The thing that worried Zack, though, were the jutting spikes of glittering crystals further up the coast. It looked like crystalized materia. Probably couldn't be good to go too close, just in case there were pools of mako. With formations that big, he figured the pools would be more like _lakes_ , but either way, it was bad news.

Maybe later, he could convince Cloud to go scout the area with him. If they were going to stay in the area long, they needed to know what kinds of resources were available.

These wandering thoughts carried him up the ramp onto the airship and down into the lower decks. He passed through lots of hallways and tons of doors. It still blew Zack's mind that a craft so big could take to the air.

They still had lots of empty rooms to fill up, too. If folks wanted, they could spread out and not have any neighbors or roommates. Everyone seemed to want to stick together, though, which meant most of the occupied rooms were near the bridge.

That suited Zack fine. He liked bunking with Cloud. He also liked being able to find people, instead of getting hopelessly lost wandering the belly of a ship.

He found Raijin pacing in the hall. Raijin drew up short on seeing him.

"Hey, man," Zack started.

"Nope." Raijin thrust his chest out and folded his arms. "You can't come this way, and if you're here 'cuz of hot dog breath, then too bad. Seifer's busy, ya know?"

"Busy, this early in the morning?"

Raijin's face went stiff and dark. "...Yeah! And it's, it's none ya biz wh-- what he's doin'!"

Behind Raijin, a new voice, flat and loud, spoke up: "SILENCE."

As soon as Raijin moved out of the way and turned, Zack spotted Fujin. Short but not delicate, they stood with their feet braced apart and their arms folded. Their single eye narrowed as they stared up at Zack. No one could deny they had presence.

Zack thought about backing down. Going for a morning jog wasn't a big deal, after all. Then he thought about how hard Seifer fought to earn his place in the group and how he still struggled to get along with others. The chance to bond and work off some excess energy would be good for him.

So: time to put on his best concerned friend act.

Rubbing at the back of his head, Zack tapped the toe of his boot against the floor. "Listen, Seifer made a promise. I wouldn't insist except that's his honor he's sleeping in on."

Fujin's eye softened, just the slightest bit. They glanced over at Raijin. The two of them had a rare skill of exchanging unspoken communication.

Finally, Fujin shrugged. "YOUR FUNERAL."

"...Yeah, everybody keeps saying that."

The two parted to either side of the hallway to walk past Zack.

On the way by, Raijin smacked him on the shoulder. "Good luck. You're gonna need it, ya know?"

"Weird," Zack murmured under his breath.

Thinking about it, everything about Seifer had been a little weird lately. He didn't exactly mellow out, but he picked less fights. Well, with everyone but Squall and Zell. It seemed like he just couldn't get along with those two, no matter what.

Zack squared his shoulders, determined to help Seifer increase the number of people he got along with. He marched up to Seifer's door and knocked.

The muffled, "Go the fuck away," was not a promising sign.

He knocked again anyway, louder and more insistent. "Up and at 'em, soldier!"

Thanks to his mako-enhanced hearing, he made out the sleepy murmur of a voice that definitely was not Seifer's. He had a split second to realize, _oh, this is a sex thing,_ and then it was too late.

The door got yanked open, hard enough to crash it against the wall. Seifer filled the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of silky boxers with some kind of subtle patterning on them that Zack couldn't fully admire because he was distracted by two very crucial facts.

The first was that he had never seen Seifer outside of his usual gear. Now he knew what kind of body lurked under Seifer's coat. A well-built one that would probably fill out even more in a couple years. This was a guy who had not skipped leg day. Or any other day, for that matter.

The second was--

"Whoa," Zack blurted.

He stared at the scratches and bruises littering Seifer's body. Specifically, his eyes kept going back to Seifer's neck, ringed not only in love bites but actually ringed, like someone had choked the life out of him.

Yet he was very much alive and looking more and more pissed off by the second, shifting this way and that to keep Zack from looking into the room.

Zack looked in the room.

Another body he never expected to see uncovered lay on the bed.

It took Zack a second to realize it was _Cecil_. As in Cecil Harvey, the guy who almost never took his helmet off, and spent most of his time in hiding when he wasn't at the forefront literally throwing himself in the line of fire to protect others.

And here he was, on display: pale skin so pale it looked like glass; silvery white hair all spread out and mussed up; soft sleepy blue eyes blinking at him, unguarded.

"Woah," Zack repeated.

"What do you _want_ , Fair," Seifer growled.

Zack dragged his eyes away from Cecil's shapely rear end. "Uhhh." Blinking rapidly, he took several gulps of air, suddenly feeling very lightheaded. "You know what? Nevermind, sorry to interrupt, I uh, I'm just gonna go now, catch you later!"

He twisted his upper body around real fast and his legs followed belatedly. All of a sudden, his boots went slippy and slidey and he scrambled not to hit the deck face first. Sort of felt like the whole airship lurched. Couldn't have, though, because Seifer just stood steady in the doorway, frowning as he watched Zack flee like a coward.

That morning run turned out to be a boon. Zack threw himself into it to outrun his jumbled, confused thoughts.

The thud of his boots against the hard-packed trail beat out a relentless rhythm that could not quite drown out the wild, skittish pounding of his heart. Combined, the beats drummed into his head: _Cecil and Seifer, Cecil and Seifer, Cecil and Seifer_.

He blazed right past the others, still at the midway point of the route, and vaguely waved at their shouts without slowing.

Since he had not stretched properly, his calves started to ache halfway through the third lap of the five mile course. He was performing super suboptimally and putting out a bad show for the SOLDIER program, all because he couldn't stop thinking about--

_Cecil and Seifer._

Zack slowed and bent to brace his hands on his knees. He panted harshly. His lungs burned like the time the gang let Prompto season the curry. Sweat dripped from his forehead and soaked through his top. He was a _mess_.

Unhelpfully, his mind conjured up the image of Cecil naked in Seifer's room and Seifer bruised and oddly subdued even though he was annoyed.

Even more unhelpfully, his dick made its opinions about the whole thing known right as Zell and Prishe caught up to him. Zack dropped into squats immediately.

"Going at it hard, huh?" Zell chirped, unaware of the innuendo inherent.

Rapidly, Zack nodded, which was a feat to do since he was still doing squats as fast as he could. Thank Ifrit's hairy balls that his SOLDIER uniform had looser pants. "Yup, never anything less than 120% from this guy!"

"Well, Mister 120%, we're going to hit the baths and breakfast table." Prishe waited until Zack was on the downswing of a squat to slap him on the back. "Are you coming with?"

"Uhhh, _yup_! Don't wait up, I wanna hit one hundo before I finish my lap."

"Okayyy, don't overdo it!"

"Yeah, man, there's no exams or anything you need to ace." Zell grinned as he thumbed his nose. "It's vacay time!" Even though he said that, he bounced in place and shadowboxed a little. "We can take it easy and goof off, _for sure_."

Laughing, Prishe ducked under Zell's wildly swinging fists, then grabbed him by the belt loop to haul him away. "C'mon, I'm _starving_ , boxer boy!"

Zack breathed out a huge sigh of relief once they were gone. He sank into a crouch with his head down between his knees and his arms draped over his thighs. The exertion and distraction had helped abate his groin-related issue for the time being.

The knot in his gut lingered, hot and squirmy every time his thoughts started to wander back to what he'd seen.

"Oh, man," he muttered, "I am so screwed."

Not wanting to outpace Zell and Prishe and have to deal with any more of their concern, Zack waited until he spotted Sabin coming up the hill before getting to his feet and taking off back towards camp. He hoofed it right for the airship and the showers.

A cold shower did little to cool down his libido but it washed away the sweat and grime from his run and left him a little more clear-headed.

He had no business thinking about whatever Cecil and Seifer had going on. It was their thing. Masturbating to it would be incredibly inappropriate and rude, too. So he should just... pretend he never saw anything.

Zack headed to his room, where he donned a clean uniform, then pulled his hair back into a tail. He did some deep breathing exercises in front of the mirror, then slapped his cheeks twice.

Thusly prepared for anything, he stepped out into the hall--

\--and almost walked into Cecil. Who was not wearing any armor but had at least put on more clothes since Zack last saw him.

"Uh," Zack said, which was a truly wisdomous thing to say, all things considered. He tried again. "Hi?"

Cecil smiled faintly, head tipped back to meet his gaze. "Hello, Zack."

Throat closing up, Zack stared at Cecil's mouth for longer than was strictly polite. He swallowed and forced himself to look anywhere else. Cecil had nice hands, he noticed. The nails were painted to match his eyes, with glittery silver stars on them. Zack wondered if he did it himself or if someone had helped him.

"I came to see whether you're alright," Cecil continued, apparently not minding how bad Zack was failing at the whole socializing thing. "You hurried off rather suddenly..."

"Oh, uh. Yeah! I'm great!" Zack curled his bicep and slapped it, grinning. "Realized Seifer probably wasn't... up for... a run. This morning, I mean."

Cecil coughed politely. "No, probably not."

"Anyway, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry like that, so I'll just, uh..." Easing to the side, Zack made an attempt to get around Cecil. "...you know. Breakfast."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Zack blinked, then chuckled nervously. "What's there to talk about?" He shook his head hard enough to smack himself in the face with his pony tail. "Naw, I'm good."

Saying nothing, Cecil turned in place to watch Zack skitter down the hall.

He thought he was homefree when Seifer stepped out in front of him. Zack flailed as he skidded to a stop. Then he tried to duck around Seifer and an arm he now knew was toned slammed into the wall, blocking his escape.

"Hey, Seifer, what's--?"

Seifer glowered. "Where do you think _you're_ going?"

"Uh. Breakfast!" Zack put on his best smile. "A growing boy needs to eat, right?"

That was when he learned why Seifer Almasy, known troublemaker and all around bastard, was at Cecil's beck and call:

"Are you still growing, Zack?" Cecil asked from just behind Zack, in a voice so soft and silky that it sent a shivery thrill down his spine and sent all the blood rushing to his dick so fast his head spun.

Seifer snorted. "Maybe he's boasting about being a grower."

Then Seifer lowered his gaze and brought it up real slow. A smirk tugged at his lips. Zack had never really thought about Seifer like that but he was definitely thinking about it now. In the form of punching or kissing that stupid smirk off his face, preferably while Cecil kept _saying_ things in that stupid sexy voice.

" _Oh my gods,_ " Zack choked out. "No, I'm-- I'm definitely, uh."

Cecil leaned around Zack, close enough that his breath ghosted over Zack's bare arm. "Now, now, you're making him uncomfortable, Seifer."

"Whatever." Seifer rolled his eyes but his smirk didn't fade. "From where I'm standing, he's a big enough boy to stick up for himself."

With a noncommittal hum, Cecil peered up, meeting Zack's wide eyed, more than a little panicked look. Sparkly nails tapped against the metal of his bracer. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation some..."

A door opened down the hall. Firion stepped out, then froze, obviously staring at the way Seifer and Cecil penned Zack in up against the wall.

"...where else." Cecil straightened but did not back away.

Seifer twisted around to glare over his shoulder. He didn't lower his arm or back off, either.

A little desperate, Zack called out, "Hey, Firion! We were gonna go spar, right? Like, right now, yeah?"

"I thought you were going to get breakfast," Cecil said.

"Right, yeah, breakfast, the most important meal of the day!" Zack nodded so fast his head felt like it might pop right off his neck. "Me and Firion, off to get that, and then, sparring. Because we totally promised we would, right, man?"

Firion swept his gaze from Zack, to Seifer, and then to Cecil. His face went an interesting shade of pale and then darkened very quickly. Without one word, he turned sharply on his heel and _walked away_ , abandoning Zack to his fate.

Zack's jaw worked but no sound came out.

"Oh," Cecil sighed and patted Zack's shoulder consolingly. "I'm sorry."

A little numb from the shock of being betrayed so thoroughly, Zack turned his head to stare down at the sensation of hair tickling against his arm. Cecil leaned close again and his hand came to settle against Zack's lower back.

"What's." Zack had to swallow the Touch Me frog in his throat to get any words out. "What's going on here, guys? Are you just. Hazing me?"

Seifer barked a laugh. "Huh!"

Frowning, Cecil pulled back. "Hazing--? _No_. Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You're, uh..." Zack motioned between the two of them with a broad sweep of his hand. "You've got something going on, right? That I probably shouldn't have seen. So now you're here to make sure I don't tell anyone. Which isn't necessary, honest! I'm not gonna tell _anyone_ , not even Cloud. I'm actually really good at secrets."

"Actually..." Cecil caught Zack by the forearm, then swiped his thumb along the splotchy pattern of his skin. "I came to ask if you'd like to be let in on the secret."

"Let _in_ \--?"

"You wanna fuck or not, Fair," Seifer said, as brusque as ever.

Zack's mouth fell open. It hung open until Cecil reached up to gently touch his fingertip against Zack's chin, closing it.

Coherent thought eluded Zack. He reeled under the implications and kept looking between the two men, unable to believe they were serious.

Sighing, but fondly, Cecil patted Zack's arm. "Perhaps we should get some food in you, first."


	2. Chapter 2

For whatever reason, Zack, Cecil, and Seifer took their breakfast at Steiner and Beatrix's tent, alongside Cyan, Freya, and Kain. Zack sat right between Cecil and Seifer like they thought he would bolt.

Kain kept glancing sidelong at Cecil, his expression neutral. Whenever he looked at Seifer and Zack, a small but pronounced furrow appeared between his brows.

Steiner and Cyan chatted away, oblivious to the awkwardness.

"Oh, _knights,_ " Zack realized, halfway through his oatmeal. "You guys are all friends 'cuz you're knights, right?"

Beatrix gave Zack a long, considering look. "And you?"

"Uhhh, no, not really."

"He's here at my behest." Cecil smiled apologetically up at Zack. "I'm afraid I made him miss breakfast with his usual companions."

Kain said, in a voice like a knife, "Did you."

As if Kain hadn't insinuated anything, Cecil continued on smoothly: "As you know, Seifer and I are fixing up one of the lower holds to make a larger training room to better accommodate our troops. Zack volunteered to help us."

All eyes turned on Zack.

Taking the spoon from his mouth, Zack offered up a smile that was probably more grimace than cheer. "Yup, that's me. Glad to be helping out and stuff."

Thankfully, that was enough to dissuade anyone from prying further. After a round of, "Good on you"s, the conversation moved on.

Only Kain eyed Zack as if he suspected anything else was up. Zack busied himself with seconds instead of meeting that icy gaze.

Fortunately-- or unfortunately, Breakfast couldn't last forever.

When Zack finished eating, Cecil stood and bade their farewells. Then he inclined his head towards the airship, eyeing Zack. "Back to it, then?"

Seifer got up and went around to stand somewhere off behind Cecil in a show of going on ahead but not too far.

That was it, Zack's chance to bail.

He glanced between Cecil and the airship. The warm knot in his stomach was back, this time weighed down from too much oatmeal. It wasn't unpleasant but it did make thinking clearly difficult.

"Yeah, sure," he said, and fell in step with Cecil. When they were out of earshot of camp, he added, "I kinda get sleepy after a big meal, though, so I dunno if I'm gonna... be that much _help_."

"That's fine." Cecil beamed up at Zack. "Seifer and I may have overdone it, trying to do everything ourselves."

From the stone-faced expression on Seifer's face, Zack couldn't tell if they had overdone anything. He caught Zack looking and turned his head aside to hawk a loogie, like he needed to assert his masculinity or something.

Zack shot a look at Cecil, then back at Seifer, brows rising. Kind of funny to be posturing when he'd been caught in his room looking like a coeurl mauled him with one of the prettiest boys in the group.

A dark flush crept over Seifer's cheeks. "You wanna go, Fair?"

"Thought we were!" Zack chirped.

Cecil laughed, hooking two fingers through the leather strap of Zack's pauldron. "Come on, you two, let's see if we can't learn to play nicely."

Docile, Zack followed Cecil back onto the airship and down to the lower decks. He'd thought they would go to Seifer's room, but it looked like they really were going to one of the empty holds. Confusion warred with nerves. Maybe they really were going to do manual labor and he'd misread the situation entirely.

His legs felt like jelly the closer they got. It was probably a good thing Seifer was right behind him to nudge him along any time he started falling behind.

Cecil produced a keyring and unlocked a pair of double doors at the bottom of a stairwell. The room on the other side was big and mostly empty. Apparently work really was being done because the walls were partly covered in paneling and a big stack of supplies and tools sat in one corner.

"So, uh," Zack hedged. "This is the room you guys are working on?"

"We're far from done, as you can see." Cecil wandered out into the middle of the room, tucking the keyring into his pocket. "The entire wall has to be covered... We wouldn't want anyone to hit their head on exposed pipes." He stamped his heel against the metal flooring. "And then the floor."

"Why not get everyone else in on it?"

Seifer pushed past Zack with a quiet scoff. "And let a bunch of lamers screw it up?"

Zack mouthed, _lamers_ , brows scrunched up.

He didn't miss the way that Seifer gravitated to Cecil's side, nor how Cecil touched his arm and some of the annoyance faded from Seifer's expression. No two ways about it, they were super close and Zack was the weird third wheel.

"Well," Cecil said. "Seifer put it rudely, but we're particular about our work."

Nodding, Zack peered around. He didn't know the first thing about construction but he was pretty good at heavy lifting. "What makes you think I'm gonna be any help?"

"If you'd like to come in and close the door, we can discuss."

Still unsure of what he was getting into but confident that his curiosity couldn't hurt, Zack stepped fully into the room and shut the door behind him. Nothing momentous happened right away. Just three guys looking at each other, five feet apart because they were all gay and awkward.

Then Cecil held his hand out with an amused smile. "You never answered Seifer's crude question, but I'm going to hazard the guess that you didn't come down here for construction."

"To be honest, I've got no idea what you brought me down here for," Zack admitted, as he came closer. "And, yeah, I kinda wondered if I'd misunderstood something."

"What, are you stupid?" Seifer huffed and folded his arms. "I put it plain enough."

Eyeing Seifer up and down, Zack shrugged. "Giving some real mixed signals, buddy."

"How 'bout I knock you on your ass, see if you can't figure it out then?"

Zack put his fists up. "Just try it!"

Laughing quietly, Cecil shook his head. "As abysmal at flirting as ever, Seifer." His expression became more serious. "Should I muzzle you until negotiations are done?"

A flush spread across Seifer's face; whatever he'd been about to say died in his throat.

Blinking, Zack tilted his head. "Wait, what? Flirting?" Then his brain caught up with the conversation. "A _muzzle_?"

Cecil reached up to pat Seifer's cheek; the gesture didn't look the least bit condescending and Seifer leaned into it, eyelids fluttering near closed. It was like watching a master...

A master patting his dog.

"Oh," Zack blurted, and both men turned to look at him. "Oh, holy crap, Seifer's getting dommed!?"

Seifer muttered something like, "Too stupid to live," real angry under his breath, while Cecil doubled over laughing until he had tears in his eyes.

Until the laughter died down, Zack paced back and forth, then dropped into squats because it helped him think.

Then he sprang up. "Wait, wait, wait, did you bring me down here to do the same, like, what's the deal, guys? I don't know anything about that sort of thing except what I've seen in Cl--" He snapped his mouth shut. Maybe spilling the beans on what kind of extremely flowery reading material his buddy owned courtesy of his secret datefriend wasn't the most sporting, loyal thing to do. "--in porn, I mean. Yeah."

Cecil wiped the tears from his eyes. "We can just have sex, if you'd like."

"What, like friends with benefits, or--?"

"That's up to you."

"...Why me, though."

Seifer made a noise low in his throat, kind of strangled.

"Tell him," Cecil said, in a tone that befitted the commander of a fleet of airships.

Another strangled noise. Seifer looked like he was going to choke to death. Eventually, he managed to spit out, "'Cuz you're hot."

Zack blinked. "Thanks?"

Cecil tapped his foot. "And?"

"...And a guy that does that many squats probably has thighs that could crush my skull and I'd thank him," Seifer muttered, not looking at Zack but somewhere vaguely down enough that he was probably eyeing Zack's baggy pants. It sounded like something he'd said before. Probably to Cecil.

"Huh." Zack rubbed at the back of his head. "Never knew you noticed. Me, I mean. Either of you." Then he rocked on his heels, folding his hands behind his head. "Not that anyone can notice anything with a helmet in the way."

"No helmet now," Cecil pointed out.

"Yeah. View's nice. Shame you're always hiding it."

Seifer grunted agreement and actually reached out to touch Cecil's hair, letting it flow over his fingers. "S'not bad," he said, in an indifferent tone that didn't match the heat in his eyes.

"Hmm." Cecil canted his head back at an angle so he could peer down his perfect nose at them, smiling all the while. He curled his hand loosely around Seifer's wrist and stroked at the inside of it. "Thank you both, you're very kind."

"Not just being kind, I think," Zack said, suddenly sheepish. "But, hey, um. I'm down."

Cecil's gaze sharpened, expectant. "For?"

Apparently he was the kind of person to be exacting and not let up. Zack squirmed a little. He was really starting to see why Seifer did whatever Cecil wanted.

"I dunno, making out? Fooling around?"

"Is that all you want?"

"I..." Zack gnawed at the inside of his cheek, and wow, the metal riveting on the floor sure made an interesting pattern between his boots all of a sudden. "Dunno, never did anything like--"

"Seifer."

All of a sudden, Seifer moved. He wasn't _fast_ but Zack wasn't expecting it. He jerked his head up a little too late. Seifer rounded him and came up behind to hook arms under his. One gloved palm curved over his throat, and the other grasped his ponytail, forcing his head back towards Seifer's shoulder.

If he wanted to, Zack could get away. What kept him from doing so was the way Cecil walked purposefully towards him.

"Hey, what's..." Zack's voice came out a little wheezier than he intended, so he swallowed and tried again. "What's going on."

"Fooling around," Cecil said, in a clipped tone, with the barest hint of teeth in his smile. "If you want us to stop at any point, say _cactuar_."

"Cac--?"

Seifer's fingers tightened around his throat. "When you mean it, idiot."

As a lot of blood went south, Zack went very still in Seifer's grip. He thought about the bruises ringing Seifer's neck and he thought about how Seifer must have gotten them and mostly he tried not to breathe too hard because, wow, he was learning a lot of things about himself all at once.

Cecil splayed his fingers over Zack's knitted top and leaned in and up onto his toes. "He'll need his voice, Seifer."

"Yeah, yeah." Seifer's grip loosened but his hand remained, fingers tapping lightly against Zack's too quick pulse. "I'm not gonna throttle him."

"Good." Cecil sank back down onto his heels, then tapped his knuckles over Zack's sternum to get his attention. "Are you alright with this, Zack?"

Wordless, Zack gave the barest nod. Too much movement made Seifer pull at his ponytail and, yep, that was another thing going on the list of things to examine later when his brain got back from its vacation in his balls. He'd already known he liked his hair played with but never considered _pulling_.

Cecil sank to his knees, like it was the most natural thing in the world to do. His hands slid down Zack's body and settled over his belts.

It was Zack's turn to make a noise like a dying chocobo. Seifer snickered at him.

"Hm." Cecil studied Zack's belts; the bottom two were easy enough to undo, but the SOLDIER belt and all the harness straps were a little trickier. He glanced up, past the tent in Zack's pants. "Advice?"

"Um. Unclasps at the back."

"You're wearing a belt with a bra clasp or something, you moron?" Seifer asked.

"It's not--!"

Cecil rolled up so he was standing on his knees. "Use his name, or you can leave."

With a huff, Seifer growled, " _Zack_."

"Good boy."

Floundering some for discovering two more things so quick-- hearing his name said like _that_ and the way Cecil could make anything sound like sex-- Zack wiggled his hips. "Um, um, how are you gonna, from that angle, I mean?"

The answer came in the form of a demonstration. Cecil nosed along the crook of Zack's hip, which drew the fabric of his pants tight over his erection. Humming at the whine that elicited, Cecil reached around behind Zack.

At the same time, Seifer shoved his knee up against the back of Zack's, forcing him to bend. He took a step back to make further room for Cecil to explore the intricacies of a belt that unclasped at the back. It had twisty little bits on the latches to help secure them, like a carabiner.

All the while, Cecil mouthed down one side of Zack's clothed erection and back up the other. The hot, damp friction did little to satisfy. It just made the ache worse and worse.

"Oh, _oh_ ," Zack gasped, struggling not to wriggle too much.

Seifer nosed at his ear, breath hot against the shell. "Where's your soldier discipline, huh?"

"Nnnn..."

The click of the belt marked the end of Cecil's teasing. He made short work of the latches securing it to Zack's harness, then let it drop away.

"There we are. That was rather more complicated than a bra." Cecil sighed with satisfaction as he sat back. "Any other secrets about your wardrobe I ought to know?"

"Uh... uh-uh."

As Cecil shimmied Zack's pants down his legs, Seifer pushed his hand under Zack's top, hauling it up to expose his belly and nipples. His thumb rubbed circles around one of Zack's nipples until it hardened.

The change in position let Zack wrap one hand around Seifer's wrist; he couldn't really lower and bend the other arm, since Seifer still had his arm hooked under it, but Zack managed to get a handful of Seifer's coat.

Seifer's other hand remained on his neck. It squeezed lightly when Zack gasped and flinched back against him, as if to escape the sudden sensation of cool air on flushed skin. Or maybe the heat in Cecil's eyes as he took in all the pale patches littering Zack's body.

"My," Cecil hummed. He hooked his fingers into the elastic of Zack's boxer briefs and hauled them down around his knees. His gaze and his fingers traced along Zack's navel, hips, and thighs. "You're just dappled _everywhere_."

A little self-conscious, Zack clenched his legs together. "It's, um, the vitiligo, makes my skin, uh. Real patchy."

Cecil pressed a kiss against one of the smaller pale spots above Zack's hip. "You're lovely." Then another kiss trailed along the big one curving around and down over his thigh. "Does it make you uncomfortable, receiving attention like this?"

"Ummm, sometimes people aren't really... nice."

"'Cuz they're fucking stupid," Seifer put in and nipped at the corner of Zack's jaw. "It's interesting." He kneaded Zack's chest. "And you're _built_. Who wouldn't want that?"

Zack turned his head, still unable to believe Seifer was capable of praise. The shock of Seifer tipping Zack's head up and back a little further to kiss him made him gasp. The angle was awkward but hot. Seifer thrust his tongue into Zack's mouth, there and gone again, then sucked on his lower lip.

Whimpering, Zack pressed for more. Seifer gave it, slow and mean and teasing.

"Lovely," Cecil repeated, sighing the word out over Zack's abs.

He stroked his fingers over trembling muscles, seeking out sensitive areas. As soon as he found them, he peppered them with kisses and licks and the occasional graze of teeth.

They were both teasing Zack. It was so much all at once.

The hot knot hooked low in his navel; his balls went tight as a tingling numbness like static electricity spread outwards, leaving him all too aware of how achingly hard he was.

"C'moooon," Zack whined into Seifer's mouth.

Seifer pulled at his collar and latched onto the side of his neck, sucking hard. Cecil scraped his nails down Zack's sides, too light, and continued his tender teasing.

Zack moaned, frustrated, yet his cock twitched, once, twice, and then his thighs clenched. A thick spurt of precum dribbled out. The long, sticky line of it dangled as his cock bobbed to the beat of his heart.

"Oh, Zack." Somehow, Cecil's voice dropped to such a low, husky burr that it almost sounded like a purr. "Are you a needy boy who doesn't need us to touch you?"

"Nnnno, _please_."

Despite his protest, his cock twitched again and out came another spatter of precum. Droplets hit Cecil's chin. He didn't flinch away. Instead, he closed his eyes and tipped his face up, letting Zack see.

"Wanna touch," Seifer grumbled against Zack's neck.

"Please, please, please."

Cecil opened his eyes and smiled. "Go on, then, touch him, since he asked so nicely..."

Zack could have cried from relief when Seifer's hand wrapped around his dick. The leather warmed against his skin as Seifer stroked. He swiped his fingers over the tip to gather up precum, then worked it down over the shaft. Then he started to jerk Zack fast and hard, just this side of painful.

Keening, Zack bucked into it.

He could feel the pressure building. That delicious sparky, wet feeling of release that drew his balls up and made his whole world narrow down to the friction and the rush of his blood as his heart pounded louder and louder.

As if he had a supernatural sense for when someone was near completion, Cecil put his hand over Seifer's to still it. "Stop."

Zack and Seifer both groaned. Yet, Seifer stopped, and Zack went limp in his arms, legs shaking. Maybe he was crying, now, tears of frustration at his poor, neglected dick hanging hot and heavy between his legs.

"Shhh," Cecil soothed against Zack's skin, right above his pubic hair. "I'll take care of you." He smiled up at Zack, then at Seifer. "You can resume playing with him, if you like." Guiding Seifer's hand down, he added, "But be gentler."

"...Yeah." Seifer cupped Zack's balls, then began to massage them. "Sucks shit getting 'em crushed if that's not what you're into, heh."

Panting, Zack dropped his head back on Seifer's shoulder. "Oh..."

Seifer went back to mouthing at his jaw and neck. His hand slid up from Zack's neck and his gloved fingers pushed at his lips until he opened up to let them dip in.

A hand curled around the base of his cock. Slick lips pressed against the tip, then the underside, and a tongue flicked out to join, laving him in spit. Then wet heat enveloped the tip.

Zack cried out around Seifer's fingers. His hips bucked until Seifer's arm tightened over his thigh, stilling him.

Looking down with tears blurring his vision, he watched Cecil's head bob, his cheeks hollowing out as he sucked. He was already too far gone to last. All it took was Cecil taking all but what his hand squeezed at. Cecil looked up and _moaned_ , and the sound vibrated through Zack's dick.

The pleasure jolted through him, setting off sparks down every nerve ending and across his vision. He came with a choked off, breathy cry.

Cecil continued to mouth at him until he managed to nudge his knee against a shoulder. Seifer kept marking Zack's neck and petting at his thighs and hips for a while after that.

Overstimulated and trembling, Zack went boneless. He sort of blanked out the next few minutes.

When next he floated down from wherever his consciousness had been cast out of his body, he found himself laying on a padded mat over by the supplies in the corner. All his clothes were back in place, even his belts. A thin blanket covered him.

Zack jolted upright before he fully registered that two bodies lay at either side of him. For one delirious, panicked moment, he thought they might have ditched him.

"Oi." Seifer smacked a hand against Zack's belly. "Go the fuck to sleep, dipshit."

With a wheeze, Zack flopped back down. "Whuh-- _here_?"

Somewhat more gently, Cecil slid his arm around Zack's middle and tucked himself closer. "It will look strange if you and I are caught going to Seifer's room this time of day."

"Oh."

Seifer opened one eye to glower at Zack. "Yeah, so, sleep here or fuck off."

"...I'm good with cuddling. Here. Yeah." Zack made himself relax, though his mind was starting to go a mile a minute. "Hey, um, thanks. For... this, I mean. It was really nice."

For that, Seifer started laughing. Cecil snickered, too.

"What's so funny?"

Between guffaws, Seifer spat out, " _Told_ you he was the kind to say thanks for a blowjob!"


End file.
